The origins of Ched Nasad
by Shadowmusic
Summary: Are drow elves truly the most evil of elves? Discover the origins of the Shadow Elves; the creators of Ched Nasad and the first people of Lloth. Please R&R. Sort of a tragedy.
1. Prologue

The origins of Ched Nasad  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own Ched Nasad, Lloth, Vhaeraun, or any other trade marks of Forgotten Realms. I did, however, makeup Kharrissa and the Shadow Elves.   
(A: This is my first fanfic so please review. )  
  
PROLOGUE  
A MILLION YEARS AFTER THE FALL OF THE DROW:  
  
The archeologist strolled casually through the dark tunnels of the Underdark. The torch he held in his hand seemed barely a prick of light in the dour gloom of the great caverns. He splashed through a stagmant pool of water, which did nothing to improve his dark mood. Of all the assignments! He was a surface elf for goodness sake! He shouldn't be expected to make the dangerous trip to the Underdark to study the lost city of Ched Nasad! Of course, the dark elven city had been empty for years, but there where still magical traps lying in wait for the unwary. The archeologist turned a corner in the twisting tunnel and there it was - the West Gate. The archeologist stepped through and into the crumbling ruins of the city.   
  
There was the great temple, built in Lloth's honor. Something made him pause outside the temple's entrance to stare up in awe at the great building. Of all the structures in Ched Nasad this was the only one still completely intact. Rumors told of the great magical charms still active in the temple. Countless archeologist partys had dissapeared into the temple, never to be heard from again. The temple had become the stuff of legends, to good to be true. Or to evil to be true. The archeologist had seen Lloth's temple's before. They had always seemed beautiful but wrong. The temple before him was tainted with a long active evil. Even from the spot where he stood he could feel the great destructive power. As if in a trance he climbed the smooth marble front steps. Surely a quick look couldn't hurt him.   
  
He entered through the temple's great doorway, into the main sacraficial chamber. In the center of the great room was a gigantic stone spider hanging from the ceiling on a gossamer thread. It was impossible for such a heavy stone structure to be supported by that thin thread - it had to be magic. Before the stone structure was a black marble altar. Ceremonial daggers hung from its polished sides. There seemed to be bloodstains on its black surface, although the altar hadn't been used for millions of years. A sort of black evil bled from the altar and statue, filling the archeologist with terror. Beyond reason, he backed away from the hideous symbols, frantic to get away. His eyes darted across the room and landed on a stairwell, leading down into darkness. Behind him an eerie red glow filled the room, radiating from the altar and statue.   
  
The archeologist ran until his terror abated, then stopped. Terror turned to horror as he realized that he had not kept track of the turns he had taken. He knew the temple was huge, streching in all directions for miles. He must be in one of the underground tunnels. He suddenly noticed that all the torches along the tunnel he was in where lit. Either someone had been here recently or another spell was at work. He turned around to check the torches in the tunnel he had just come through - and found himself facing a blank wall. Filled with dread he slowly turned around to face the way he had been traveling, and found that the tunnel walls that had been far apart where now silently moving toward him. The archeologist turned around frantically. His only chance seemed to be a door hidden in the wall. It had been camaflauged to look like stone, but the enchantment had worn away in time. Odviously, whatever was behind the door was valuable or it would not be so heavily guarded. The archeologist hurried in and slammed the door just in time. He heard the grinding of stone outside as the walls finished their buisness. Then, a soft whirl made him pear outside again. The walls where reversing themselves! Slowly but surely they crept backward. As soon as they where back in place, the archeologist could leave. Until then he could only wait.   
  
He turned around to study the room he had entered. It was small and dark. The uneven stone showed him he had entered a small duengeon. He wondered what a heavily guarded duengeon was doing in Lloth's temple until he realized it must have been used to hold the more dangerous of the sacrafices. Sure enough, chains and shackles were bolted to the walls. They were all sealed though. Only the chains in the center of the room looked as if they had been used at all. He looked closer and grimaced. A dark stain had discolored the stone around and beneath the open shackles. The stain was blood. Obviously some poor creature had been held and killed here. He wondered why the prisoner had not been made a sacrifice to Lloth, even as he backed away from the grisly sight.He hit into the wall and sat down hard. That was when he realized that he was sitting on something. He slowly looked down beneath him to see - a book. Releif filled him. He had been expecting a horror even greater than the bloodstained chains. He picked up the book, curious as to what it would be doing in a duengeon. To his surprise, the book was written not in the drow tounge but in the surface elf language! He frowned and squinted in the poor light to read the title page. The Diary of Kharrissa Gwensya... 


	2. Chapter One

Disclaimer: I don't own Forgotten Realms or any of the characters.  
  
(A: Chapter 1 is what the archeologist reads in the diary. The archeologist will come back in a later chapter. Please review. )  
  
Chapter 1   
  
I knew my friend Htoll was different from the start. She was always rebellious and went against anything anyone said, even if it was for her own good. No one quite knew what to do about her. Maybe thats how I got mixed up in all this in the first place. I was young and the folly of youth is to think your invinsible. I was sure I knew the answer to Htoll's problems, if I was only given the time and permission. Permission. I was always the "good girl" in our clan, the responsible girl everybody loved. Htoll was always getting in trouble with the elders. Thats how she met the others.   
  
There were others in the clan just like Htoll. She started hanging around with them instead of me, her best friend. I still remember the day I asked her to come with me and she said, "No Kharrissa, I would rather be with my new friends. And no you can't come with us." I still remember the awful sting of it, the hurt inside. That made me all the more determined to get her back to normal. So the day she left home, I went with her.   
  
I caught her sneaking out of the forest and then she had no choice but to bring me along. That was the first time I threatened to tell on her if she didn't bring me along. Htoll introduced me to her new friends and together we travelled on. They were Jora and Vhaeraun. Jora was a whiny girl and I had never really liked her. Rebellious and sour, she was dumber than a dwarf and just as thick. Her only redeeming quality, at least in the elders eyes, was her great magical ability. Vhaeraun, on the other hand, was gifted with a quick wit and even quicker hands. He was a thief, no doudt about it, and just looking at him gave me the creeps. Htoll was my protector and our leader. Jora, Htoll, and I had never been outside the forest before, but Vhaeraun knew his way about.   
  
O ver the next hundred or so years, we traveled by night to distant forests and remote islands. Wherever we went, we found elves like Htoll, Vhaeraun, and Jora. Although they came in many shapes and sizes, they all had three things in common; great magical talent, a rebellious nature, and great physical prowness. Over time our numbers grew until we had esembled a great legion of followers. Jora melted into the pack of rebellious elves, but Htoll, Vhaeraun and I quickly became the leaders. Htoll and Vhaeraun grew farther apart as the days went on. They always seemed to be able to find the problems in each others ideas. Despite this, our numbers grew everyday. I must say that I didn't always agree with Htoll and Vhaeraun. I represented the more decent elves. Unfortunetly we were a minority.   
  
As time went on, I noticed the nature of our followers getting more and more unruly. Htoll basked in this chaos, but Vhaeraun and I more liked the idea of order. I didn't realize how far things were getting out of my hands until the elders attacked. It seemed with Htoll getting more and more rebellious, the elders could no longer ignore us as they had been doing for years. One day we were summoned to meet witha coalition of elders. I was ready to talk out our differences, but Htoll and Vhaeraun had different ideas. While some of the elves and I yelled for order, Htoll, Vhaeraun, and some of the elders got into a yelling match which consaquently turned into a shoving match. This quickly ended when Htoll pulled out her sword and claimed the life of the lead elder.   
  
Things proceeded quickly after that. The unarmed elders where quickly crushed by our elite troops. It seemed Htoll and Vhaeraun finally agreed on something. Unfourtunetly, I completely disagreed with there idea of a peace talk. I was still stunned by this turn of events as Htoll and Vhaeraun decided what to do next. Htoll was sure we would not go unscathed by the vengeful elders, but Vhaeraun thought we had just taken the first steps to carving out a vast empire. It ended with a parting of ways. Htoll and a select group of followers traveled to the lightless demphs of the Underdark. Vhaeraun and I stayed with the rest of the followers on the surface.   
  
  
(A: PLEASE REVIEW!!!!!!!! I know I only posted this yesterday, but I really want to know what you think. ) 


	3. Chapter Two

Disclaimer: I don't own Forgotten Realms or any of the characters.   
  
(A: Thanks for the reviews! I know the diary doesn't seem much like a diary but I thought it would get a little boring if I did it day by day.(That and I'm lazy.) Sorry about the spelling mistakes. Jora is not an FR character. Htoll's name is intentional. You'll find out why in a later chapter.)  
  
Chapter 2   
  
As time progressed the other normal elven nations became more and more of a problem. I found myself disagreeing with Vhaeraun more often than usual. He wanted to declare war on the other elves. I counseled against this, speaking of peace talks and alliances. I finally decided to convince Vhaeraun that the elves were becoming to much of a problem and that we should join Htoll in her gloomy underground kingdom. In this matter I had the support of the entire group of followers. Vhaeraun reluctantly agreed to what he thought was a temporary retreat.   
  
It took awhile to find Htoll because by then she had built herself an empire deep in the heart of the Underdark. She had changed drastically from the last time I had seen her. She had convinced herself she was all powerful and had even had a temple built in her honor. She welcomed me readily enough, although she seemed a bit distant to Vhaeraun. Although I didn't know it then, she needed me for her plans.   
  
Of all of us I was the most easy to manipulate because of my innocence. I think deep in my heart I still thought of her as my childhood friend. This helped convince me of her sincerity and I fell unwittingly into her trap. As I look back I wonder how I could have been so naive when the warning signs where all around me. Of all the followers, I was still the most powerful clerically. Our elven god, Taggareous, (A: I know Taggareous is made up. Someone please tell me the name of the most powerful elven god.) listened to my innocent pleas more than Htoll's whims or Vhaeraun's demands. Htoll wanted to use my trusting nature to unite our people under a common goddess and one day lead to the destruction of the surface elves.   
  
I played right into her hands, giving her the power she needed to unite our people. She made me perform an ancient ritual she had found in her wanderings of the abysmall planes. I will not detail it here for my time grows short. Unknowingly, my god fed the power me I asked of him and I transferred it to Htoll. Unknown to either of us, Vhaeraun was sneaking about the ritual. He too received the power. They became dietys with as much power as the lesser gods. For in our time in the Underdark, our followers had become much more powerful than any race under the sun. We became the Shadow Elves.   
  
(A: Sorry this chapter was so short. I'll try to post more tomorrow, but if I don't, don't expect anymore until next week. Review please. ) 


	4. Chapter Three

Disclaimer: I don't own Forgotten Realms or any of the characters.   
  
(A: Okay, this will be a pretty short chapter. I think this story will be ending soon.)  
  
Chapter 3  
  
  
The spell destroyed Taggareous (A: I still need a better name people!), and bled his energies into the outside world, using me as a channel. As Htoll sealed the ceremony, I collapsed. The raw energy of the deity coursing through my body caused me to faint. Because the ceremony had been so potent, my mystical abilities were destroyed and my clerical ones were handicapped. The harsh ceremony had put a strain on my mind and body, so I was unconscious for several days. When I woke up, I found that Htoll had become the goddess of the Shadow Elves.   
  
I was surprised when I woke up to find myself the chief priestess of a goddess who was formerly my best friend. I think that Htoll would have disposed of me while I was unconscious, if not for the fact that she would have lost her powers if I were to die. Because I had performed the ceremony, certain rules had to be observed. I could not be killed without Htoll and Vhaeraun losing their new powers. Htoll didn't like the uncertainty, so she and Vhaeraun searched long and hard for a way to make the ceremony permanent. They found their way in the form of a magical ritual.   
  
In order for the ritual to work, Htoll needed a new name, given to her by the giver of her powers. That was me. Htoll deceived me, coming to me under the pretense of wanting a more imposing name. Nonchalantly, I suggested that her name backward would do. Htoll became Lloth, goddess of chaos and spiders, ruler of the Shadow Elves. Vhaeraun's powers became permanent too, as the Shadow Elf god of thieves.   
  
The ceremony once again tore at my mind, but this time when I regained consciousness, I was locked in this room with only this book with me. I don't know why Lloth would have a prison built in her temple, but I can see that my time is short. You see, the end of the ritual calls for a sacrifice. I believe that I shall die in this city of Ched Nasad without ever seeing the light of day again. Fortunately, although my clerical abilities were handicapped, I have called upon the powers of the gods so that when my life is destroyed, so will be the lives of the other Shadow Elves. It is the best I can do to make up for the evil I have brought into this world. I am afraid this diary must now end. I here them coming for me...  
  
  
(A: That's the end of the diary, but their is a final chapter on its way. The Epilogue is about what happens to the archaeologist. ) 


	5. Epilogue

Disclaimer: I don't own Forgotten Realms or any of the characters.   
  
(A: Okay, this is my last chapter. Pretty short, but it is the Epilogue.)  
  
  
Epilogue  
  
The archaeologist trembled. Of course he knew the Shadow Elves had been destroyed by a great force at the dawning of time. About the same time, the drow had forsaken the light and found their way to the Underdark to build such cites as Menzoberranzan and Ched Nasad. The drow's Ched Nasad must have been built on the ruins of the Shadow Elves's city, save the temple.   
  
The archaeologist picked up the book. He must show the others on the surface this great archeological find. As he picked up the book, he saw words engraved on the stone floor, previously hidden by the bulk of the book. They read "Because Kharrissa Gwensya led to the destruction of the Shadow Elves, I, Lloth, have sealed her spirit here forever more. Nevermore will another mortal leave this room alive." The archaeologist heard the clanking of chains behind him. He turned around...  
  
THE END  
  
(A: It's a really tragic ending, but I'm trying to stick with the storyline that no one has ever left Lloth's temple alive. Sorry, I'll try to make my next story more light. (When and if I ever get around to posting it.)) 


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